RACING SPECIAL: Earnhardt Jr. Brings No. 3 to Victory Lane in Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. may
have the most fans in NASCAR, but even those who don't necessarily
like him were likely rooting for him on Friday night.

Driving in a car designed as a homage
to his late father, Earnhardt took the lead on Lap 70 of a Nationwide
Series race at Daytona and held on to take the checkered flag.

Earnhardt Jr. had to hold off Joey Logano on a green-white-checkered
race to the finish after a late caution, one in which the top eight
drivers on the grid gambled by not pitting and deciding to race on
older tires.

Earnhardt Jr. flew through the finish,
then drove his celebratory victory lap with his hand out the window
waving at fans. It was Earnhardt Jr.'s first win in the Nationwide
Series since 2006 at Michigan and was his eighth at Daytona.
Earnhardt Jr. has won six Nationwide/Busch races at Daytona as well
as two Cup races.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. died soon after
crashing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 after driving
aggressively to help block for Earnhardt Jr. and eventual winner
Michael Waltrip.

Earnhardt Jr. was driving a car with
his father's No. 3 on it for only the third time since his death –
all three in NASCAR's secondary series. Junior has won two of those
three races; both came at Daytona.

“We lost everything here,'' crew
chief Tony Eury Jr. said through tears after the race. “To win here
with his number...”

"I feel lucky, real, real lucky to
win. If I didn't win, what a waste of time,'' Earnhardt said on
Victory Lane. "I did it for Daddy, proud of him for going into
the Hall of Fame. This is for his fans. I hope they enjoyed it. No
more 3 for me. We won. That's it.''

On Thursday, Earnhardt Jr. told the
Daytona Beach News-Journal that Friday's race would likely be the
last time he drove a car with his father's famous number on it, and
he reiterated those comments on ESPN on Friday.

Now an owner of his own Nationwide
Series team, Earnhardt Jr. as well as Richard Childress Racing and Teresa Earnhardt teamed
up to make Friday's salute to 'The Intimidator' possible.

Earnhardt Jr. drove a Chevy not only
with his dad's number, but the Impala sported the familiar blue and
yellow color scheme complete with Wrangler sponsorship – Wrangler
was Earnhardt Sr.'s primary sponsor from 1981-87. Earnhardt Jr. even
wore a firesuit reminiscent to the style his father wore in the early
1980s.

Earnhardt Jr. said the car's retro look
was to honor his father's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but
it also created a rush on souvenir trucks as the blue-and-yellow
themed gear was pretty much everywhere on the race grounds.

After Friday's win, they might just
sell out as the crowds grow for Saturday's Cup race. Earnhardt Jr.
will return to his normal sponsors and No. 88 for the Coke Zero 400.

And even though Earnhardt Jr. said he
was “99 percent” sure he wouldn't roll out the No. 3 again, even
his peers sounded like they hoped he might have a change of heart.

“I think it's an awesome sight,''
Mark Martin said on Thursday. “I know that a lot of our fans
weren't around during that era, but a lot of them were, too. For all
the ones who were, they get it. It's good to see Junior in it and
it's good to see it happening.''

Said Kurt Busch: “You look at it and
go 'that's cool'.''

CHANGE FOR CHASE?

NASCAR chairman Brian France said
Friday that the Chase to the Championship could be changed next year.

“We want to make sure it's giving us
the biggest impact moments that it's supposed to,'' France said. “We're happy with the Chase. It just
means if we can enhance it in a pretty significant way we may do
that. That will be the thing we decide in the coming months.''

Four-time defending champion Jimmie
Johnson said Friday that he's talked to NASCAR about potential
changes and he says some of them are pretty radical. The Sprint Cup
Series champion is crowded following the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway.

“From my conversations with them,
they are very serious about making some changes,'' Johnson said. “I
don't know what exactly because we've talked about minor changes all
the way up to some very extreme options they are considering. I know
their number one goal is to make it entertaining and exciting.''